Recently someone reached out to ask about the unit economics of Camp Hustle. He wanted to know why the tickets were priced the way they were. As he put it:

“I’ve been to $10k investor conferences and I’ve been to $200 investor conferences and I’m genuinely curious to know how planners make the decision on pricing.”

I thought this was a fair question. And in fact, it was such a fabulous thought exercise that I’m sharing it with all of you.

The truth is that Camp Hustle is not a big revenue generator for us. This is because the unit economics of events can be really tricky. Overhead costs for venue fees, food and beverage, transportation, speaker fees, team travel expenses, and insurance add up. Fast.

Tickets are designed to help us cover those costs. So if this event isn’t about making money… why are we doing it?

What’s the point?

To answer this question, let’s look at the Hustle Fund mission: to democratize access to wealth through startups using three pillars – knowledge, network, and capital.

Camp Hustle hits every one of those notes.

• Knowledge comes from the knowledge shared by speakers onstage, in breakout sessions, and from spontaneous 1-1 conversations
• Network… well this one’s a bit obvious, right? Network comes from bringing 200+ investors together over 2.5 days
• Capital is a result of what happens after Camp Hustle wraps up. It’s the raising of capital from the Camp Hustle network, it’s the launch of new funds as a direct result of the pitch event, and it’s the co-investing opportunities that arise from new deal flow sources

But the real reason that we don’t price Camp Hustle at $5k or $10k or even $30k a ticket (yes, those events exist) is because we’re after something more than profit margins. Our focus is on maximizing the value for each attendee.

So… what does the investor community value?

According to the attendees we’ve interviewed about this subject, the answer is: building a strong investor community. Here’s why that matters:

• To grow access to high-quality deal flow
• To weigh the risks of investment opportunities
• To navigate complicated startup situations
• To find out about new syndicates
• To find co-investors
• To get help with back office ops
• To find LPs
• To meet potential clients and business partners
• To learn about new markets
• To find a new job and/or hire great people

Are there fancier investor events out there? Absolutely. You ain’t gonna find caviar or personalized Air Jordans for everyone at Camp Hustle. What you will get is the opportunity to form real relationships with people who will impact your career in the best way.

As one attendee put it last year: “The quality of attendants at Camp Hustle is 10/10.” Another person said “This event is magic.” We think so too.

Ready to see for yourself? Grab your ticket here.